Kaos Rising
by jynxhasadragon
Summary: A year after Setne is sealed in his snow-globe prison, a new, greater threat arises. With old enemies and new allies, Percy and Carter must fight to keep the anger of Kaos at bay. Small problem: Casey and Fischer don't know where they fit in with all this, and Percy's got his own personal issues to deal with. Namely, loss of limbs, physically and emotionally. [discontinued]
1. I Think Three Talking Goats is Enough

_The Leopard and Falcon shall journey far,_

 _Lest chaos engulf and all known worlds scar_

 _By fire or water, order resides,_

 _And in Valhalla the Valkyrie doth guide_

 _The Kite and the Owl must mend the chain_

 _Of Order, and seal that which has been slain_

 _The Grave yield up her pris'ner, long forgot_

 _The sorceress' mightly battle shall be wrought_

 _By Time shall be left with whom shall deride_

 _And past enemies fight by heroes' side_

 _In caves in the Deep, in caverns below,_

 _Shall Order arise and truth be make known_

 _And deep in the heathens, Chaos shall sleep._

 _A fatal decision, ocean doth guide,_

 _The final fate to be made of mankind._

~o:O:o~

I'll tell you now, stop listening to this.

Right now.

You still there?

Alright then.

What you're about to hear is 100% real. If you haven't gotten our previous recordings, then be prepared for your whole world to come crashing down, or at least for a large chunk to be added into it.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

~o:O:o~

I suppose I should introduce myself.

My name is Carter Kane. My sister and I are the head magicians of the Twenty-First Nome of Egypt, or, as you probably know it by, Brooklyn, New York. Our story, _this_ story, begins with not one, not two, but three goats.

I was getting ready for bed, after a long day spent tutoring our initiates in pretty much every subject from "Egyptian Combat Magic for Dummies" to Math. Unfortunately, Uncle Amos and my girlfriend, Zia Rashid, were in the First Nome, researching some "interesting activity" among the mortals in the area, so it was once again up to my sister Sadie and me to run the 21st nome.

(Ok, Carter, back up, dear. This _is_ going to Annie and Percy's camp, right? The Romans as well? Explain the whole House of Life thing. Actually, on second thought, I'll do that.)

 _(Listen to your sister, Carter)_

[Percy, you're supposed to help me out! Hey- Sadie! Gimme back the- ugh, fine. Be quick.]

(Of course, brother dear.)

~o:O:o~

Hullo, everyone. Pardon the sudden intrusion, but my dear brother was leaving out some important details. I'll fill you in: not only are Greek and Roman gods real, but Egyptian gods are as well. But, unlike those of you demigods, we Egyptians do not have demigods. Instead, we are all magicians. We all share the blood of the pharoahs, which I suppose could count as being a demigod. But back to my point. During the reign of the Egyptian empire, us magicians formed an organization known as the House of Life. The nomes my dear brother mentioned are sections of the world, to which magicians are assigned to protect.

(The First Nome is where the Chief Lector, or leader of the House of Life and most powerful magician in said house, presides from. As of right now, our Uncle Amos is Chief Lector. Can I have the mic back?)

[Suit yourself.]

~o:O:o~

Anyways, back to the story.

I was brushing my teeth when I heard a _thump_ followed by a distressed _baa_ come from my window. A goat had climbed into my room, attempting to sneak in DnD style.

If he were playing DnD, then he would've rolled a 1 for his stealth and a 1 for his deception. Seriously. This goat had on a trenchcoat that probably dragged behind him as he walked, along with a wide-brimmed fedora and dark 50's style shades. Even with the getup, frosty grey hair poked out of every possible place, and his goat horns were clearly visible under his hat.

Before I could process the pile of leather and goat that lay in front of me, another _baa_ rang out, from a different window. "Otis!" a voice hissed from the direction of the angry baa. Otis the goat heap sighed. "Of course I screw up..."

"Be quiet you idiot!"

"You guys, he already saw you," a third voice said. "You got any spare enchiladas?"

 _(Hey, it's Grover!)_

[Shush, Perce]

 _(Ok,_ _ok)_

My toothbrush nearly fell out of my mouth. Two more goats climbed into my room, one from the balcony and one from the window. Percy had mentioned his satyr friend Grover, so I shouldn't have been surprised. Note the use of the word _shouldn't_. Needless to say, I was.

Very.

"...Who are you guys, and what are you doing in my room?"

Otis sighed again and bleated unhappily. "Marvin...you can tell him..."

The other goat, apparently named Marvin, bleated angrily. "You idiot of a brother! Of _course_ he passes it to _me_. I don't see why we're doing this when we're just gonna die anyways." he grumbled. The satyr sighed. "You're Carter, right? Chiron sent me. I...kinda picked these two up on the way over her. I'm Grover, by the way." He held out his hand, and I shook it hesitantly. He wore a faded orange _Camp Half-Blood_ t-shirt, much like Percy's. Around his neck was a set of panpipes and a beaded necklace with 12 or 13 beads on it. _Way_ more than Percy. "Ok...why are you here?"

Grover sighed. "There's...problems back at camp. It's affecting everyone, and I mean _everyone._ "

"What sort of problem?"

"Well, to be frank, the Mist is going down. You've seen signs of that?"

"I'm not very good at looking into the Duat, but my sister can help you with that. But from what I have seen, yes it does look like somethings wrong."

"We've been getting reports from Hades, about Tartarus. Something down there is waking, and its so powerful that the mist can't function properly to hide it. We've got two options we can see right now: strengthen the Mist, or imprison said creature in a prison worse than Tartarus."

"If there _is_ a prison worse than Tartarus."

Grover hesitated and started chewing on his shirt. "That's the thing: If we strengthen the Mist, it will only delay whatever is trying to break free. Even then, its risky enough..."

Otis the goat slumped. "Magnus told us a bit about that. He said if we imprison it somewhere its not familiar with, it might help. Like imprisoning it in Helheim."

"Wait, back up. Helheim is a _N_ _orse_ realm. Are you...?"

"The goats of Thor? Yeah, that's us," Marvin grumbled. "Valhalla is real! Yippy skippy! More _einherji_ to eat us every day."

"...Ok?"

Grover turned to me. "You should probably know what we're fighting against here."

"I think that might be important."

Grover shifted nervously. "It's..." He hesitated, nibbling on his shirt some more.

"It's Kaos herself."

~o:O:o~

Wow, Carter, handing me the mic _now_. I thought you were supposed to be the brave one.

(Shut up, Perce)

[You're the one who handed the mic to me. But back to my part of the story.]

I was out patrolling with Clarisse. I had my dog, Mrs. O'Leary, and my pegasus friend, Blackjack, with me. As I looked about, Mrs. O'Leary's tail stood out and she stuck her nose in the air.

"Leary, girl, whatcha got?" She stared at some bushes and wagged her tail slowly. "Blackjack, go find Clarisse. I'll be right back."

 _Alright, boss_

My pegasus friend took to the aie and flew off. I climbed onto Mrs, O'Leary's back. "Alright, girl, take me to wherever you smelled it." She sniffed the air again, let loose a low growl, and bounded into the nearest tree.

~o:O:o~

I found myself on the southern shore of Long Island. To my left, a small family of 3 sat, having a picnic. One of the kids, looking about 12 or 13 years old, looked at me with her mouth hanging open.

"Mom, that guy just appeared out of nowhere..." The mother turned towards me and recoiled with shock. The girl's brother, probably a twin, also looked shocked to see me. His half-eaten sandwich fell out of his mouth. I threw my hands up and smiled. "Um...Hi! Sorry, I didnt mean to interrupt your-"

"Why is that dog on fire? And where are its eyes? And why are you not running from it?"

It was my turn to gawk at the boy. "You- you can see that?"

"Yeah," he stated matter-of-factly. I looked at his mother, then at his sister. "You guys have a monster problem?"

The mother nodded. "Yes, ever since these two were born."

"I saw the Minotaur once when I was little. He was chasing a car," the girl stated. I paled. "That...was me. The car, I mean. Sorry."

She opened her mouth to reply, but was cut short by a red glow coming from the east. We all turned towards it, and I uncapped Riptide. The boy looked at it with wonder and then looked up at me. "Can I-"

"Not now, kid, sorry. Gotta take care of that. Don't follow me, it's dangerous." I started to leave, when the mother called out to me. "Wait. Tell us your name, at least."

I turned back and smiled.

"Percy Jackson."

I hopped onto Mrs. O'Leary and bounded off towards the glow.

~o:O:o~

 **Yeah, ik i just started that other one. i've wanted to make this one for a while now, and i actually have somewhat of a plan for it. Anyways, reviews are read and apprectiated, i'll update when i can. Cya guys**


	2. Attack of the Killer Meat Hunk

I ran up the side of the hill towards the red glow. Blackjack landed next to me, Clarisse riding on his back and thoroughly pissed.

"Jackson!"

I turned towards her and glared. "Shush, will you?" She grumbled quietly as she slipped off the pegasus and crouched next to me, watching the red glow. "Blackjack, go back to camp," I told the pegasus.

 _What about you, boss? Mrs. O'Leary can't take you back, you know._

"I know, Jack, just go ok?"

He huffed. _Alright, boss._

Clarisse growled. "Translate for me, kid, 'cause I don't speak Horse."

"He said to be quiet."

Blackjack huffed in approval again and took to the sky. I looked over the crest of the hill and scanned the surrounding area. In front of me was a small valley, with a large crevasse down the center. That was new. Smoke rose out from it, colored blood red. Inside, I could hear screaming, similar to the sound of the tortured, imprisoned souls that Tartarus had devoured, only much more powerful and bone-chilling. Clarisse paled and slowly backed off.

"Grover and Annabeth were right."

I turned towards her. I had never seen her so scared in my life. Maybe because she just got mad instead of scared. But still, it was _wrong_. I backed off towards her.

"Right about what?"

"Kaos is breaking free of a prison she made herself."

I looked back over my shoulder and shuddered. "Let's hope that the Duat holds the Mist together long enough for us to prepare."

"The what?" Clarisse eyed me, not trusting of the new term I had seemingly made up.

"I'll explain later. Not now, when something could come out of that-"

A shrill scream echoed through the crevasse, and a flash of red light shot into the sky. It flew towards us and dived.

"Run!" Clarisse shouted.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious!" I shouted back. We ran. I had a flashback to 6th grade, with Mrs. Dodds dive-bombing me in the face.

Gee, what a refreshing thought.

The light around the creature dimmed, and what I saw was so disgusting I nearly threw up the cookies that Rachel had forced me to eat earlier that day. It was a hunk of flesh, an amalgamation of several creatures (dating the smartest girl at camp has the downside of an increased vocabulary). I saw the face of a gorgon, mid-shreik, with glazed eyes and a dysfunctional jaw. She looked vaguely familiar, but I had no time to dwell on it. The 'amalgamate', as I will further refer to it by, had three legs and four wings. One of said legs, a chicken foot, sprouted from the forehead of another creature that I did recognize by name. Tammi, the first _empousai_ I had killed at the start of my freshman year at Goode high. Like the Gorgon's (Stheno, I remembered. She tried to kill me. With cheese crackers. Long story),the _empousai_ 's eyes were also glazed over. A third head, of an eagle, had its eyes ripped out, with only dark pits to replace them. Two of the wings looked to belong to said eagle, the other two of Stheno. Two tails, of a lion and a donkey, sprouted from its glorious nonexistant behind and the other from its nonexistant armpit. The entire creature dripped a strange black liquid, which leaked from the eyes and mouths of the creatures. Several blade wounds and burns were scattered across the amalgamate, probably wounds from former battles against...most likely _me._ More of the black liquid oozed out from them.

It was disgusting.

It smelled like burned flesh that had sat outside for years but somehow managed to stay moist.

Clarisse nearly retched.

Stheno opened her mouth at an ungodly angle and let loose another ear-piercing scream. Her snakes writhed and shivered as the amalgamate dove for us. Clarisse ran towards the woods, shouting insults at the top of her lungs. Of course this didnt work, as the amalgamate decided to pursue me instead. I ran in the other direction, shouting at Clarisse and pointing her towards the small family I had spoken to earlier.

"Get them out of here! I have no idea what this thing can do!" Clarisse ran for the family and I ran in tho other direction, still clutching Riptide in my hand. "Hey, Fart Breath! Remember me, you no-good slut of a cheerleader?" I shouted. Tammi's face snarled and lashed out at me, barely missing my sword arm. I slashed at one of the amalgamate's wings, hoping to stunt its flight. No such luck. The griffin reared its head and struck at my arm. Some of the black liquid landed on my arm and seared into my flesh. The rotting smell of the creature was so potent, I nearly passed out.

I ran towards the water and dove in.

The water was refreshing, but the wound wasn't closing like it normally did. I surfaced and willed the currents to take me far enough away to get in a quick breath. I spared a glance at Clarisse with the family. They were running towards the woods, Mrs O'Leary bounding next to them. A shriek of an angry _empousai_ once again caught my attention as the amalgamate dove for me again. This time, I rolled to the side, slashing at Stheno's face as it passed beside me. She let loose another gutteral cry, clearly upset with the new wound. Black blood oozed out, dripping into the water. It sizzled on contact with it, and I got an inkling of an idea. The amalgamate hovered about ten feet away from me, hissing at the water. I willed some into my hand and waited. "Hey! Tammi, was it?" The amalgamate snarled, and Tammi's face spoke in a disembodied voice.

"I'm impressed, Jackson...You remembered my name..."

"It's kinda hard to forget you, especially because 'ugly' starts with a 'U', if ya get my point."

She snarled.

"Look what you've done to us, Jackson...this is _your_ fault, for casting us into Tartarus..."

"I don't see how that could be _my_ fault, if _you_ were the one who, in fact, attacked first. Same for you, Stheno." She snarled as well. "You guys really aren't that intimidating, you know...considering I'm still alive and _not_ emotionally scarred by you two..."

Stheno snarled again. " _Not intimidating?_ I'll wrap that no-good face of yours into a puppy-in-a-blanket and feed it to our younglings, demigod!"

"I thought gorgons turned people to stone on eye contact. How come you don't?"

That tipped her over.

She let loose an ear-splitting screech and dove for me. I sidestepped and willed a wave to crash over the amalgamate. Another scream. The whole creature was fuming. Literally. The sea water soaked into their wounds, the salt slowly eating away at their flesh. The smell of burning rotting flesh mixed with the smell of dead fish.

Potent stuff.

I doubled over and retched.

The amalgamate stopped writhing soon after I finished, conveniently enough. Clarisse ran towards me and dragged me away from it. The boy and girl rushed towards me, obviously worried. "Wha-? Clarisse, I told you to get them to safty!" I said, frowning. "I tried! They insisted on helping you! Why is your arm not healed?!" I looked back down at the wound on my left arm and nearly passed out. "I-I dunno, just keep in mind the blood or whatever it is is poisonous, ok? And it doesn't like-"

I was cut off with another ungodly scream, from Tammi this time. Clarisse whirled around, grabbed her spear amd charged.

"Salt!" I shouted. Using the last of my strength, I summoned a wave and doused the amalgamate with sea water. Then everything went black.

~o:O:o~

Clarisse here.

The Meat Hunk smelled almost as awful as it looked. Jackson was passed out on the sand, leaving me to fight Super Meat Boy's hellish equivalent. Fortunately, Perce had been right about Fish Breath's hatred of salt. The wave he summoned knocked it clean outta the air and into the water, writhing and screaming like a three-year-old who didn't get the candy they wanted. Unfortunately, I now understood why Percy had doubled over and thrown up the first time. The smell hit my nostrils like the smell of a barn, only the barn hadn't been cleaned in years and was full of rotting seafood. I surpressed the urge to vomit, then charged into battle with Dead Toad Face. Or Faces.

Whatever.

I stabbed it with my spear, right into the snakey skull of Medusa's Ugly Sister (wait, didn't Medusa actually have two sisters? Was this one of them?). Snake Skin broke her jaw screaming again when I pulled out my spear. She was really getting to me, so I stabbed her in the throat. My spear hit something hard, and the other two faces reared their heads and let loose cries almost comparable to that of Miss Snakeyface [Ok, I'm reeeally starting to run outta names for this thing]

(I called it an amalgamate, because, well...my girlfriend is Annabeth, come on.)

[I ain't calling it that. Gimme separate names.]

(The gorgon is Stheno, the _empousai_ is Tammi, and the griffin is...Big Bird.)

[You're worse at naming than I am. Back to the story.]

I grabbed the hard thingy I mentioned earlier with my spear hook and pulled it out through Stheno's mouth. The creature collapsed.

Remember when I resisted the urge to retch?

This time wasn't so easy.

The 'hard thing' looked to be a heart of some sort. Actually, I take that back. It looked like _three_ hearts, smashed together, and it smelled worse than that stupid Amagelatinabotamus or whatever Jackson had called it. It was connected by several veins, with three main arteries branching out to each head. As soon as I cut those, the whole thing collapsed into three dismembered figures, with random body parts floating in the water. Just to be safe, I proceeded with decapitation and headed towards Percy and the tykes.

Percy was pale, and sweating a bit too much. The wound on his left arm had darkened significantly. He'd probably been speaking about the black blood being poisonous from experience. Around the wound, his arm was black. It smelled similar to the dirty barn of undead fish, only not as bad. I still nearly retched.

The kids were on the verge of panic, so when I got to them, you could see the relief that washed over them.

That was a new reaction.

I inspected his arm more closely. The poison was spreading slowly, which was bad. Always bad. The cut had gotten wider, and his forehead temperture was comparable to the Hephaestus Cabin's forge.

"You, go get a stick. You know how to make a tourniquet?" The boy nodded and ran off. I turned towards the girl and tore off part of my shirt as a bandage. "You, go out to the ocean and soak this in sea water. And if you have a canteen or something, fill that with sea water as well. _Clean_ sea water." She too nodded and ran towards the ocean. The boy came back and fashioned a tourniquet on Percy's arm, above the poison. I nodded in approval, and the girl came back with her water bottle and rag. We tied on his salty bandage, and I called for Blackjack. Camp wasn't too far away, but there was no way we could carry him there in time to get proper care.

(Gee, since when did you care so much about me?)

[Jackson, you're the one punk at camp that I actually enjoy beating up. Do you know how hard it is to find someone like that?]

(Point taken.)

Blackjack flew over and whinnied in shock at the sight of Percy. The twins' eyes widened at the pegasus.

"Blackjack, get Percy to Camp. Be careful." I was about to tell him that I'd go with him, but then I remembered the twins and their mother.

"...I'll meet you there. Fly fast." With the help of the two kids, we gor Percy onto Blackjack and bade him farewell.

"Oh, gods, Annabeth is gonna _kill_ me..," I muttered.


	3. Claimed, and Rachel Has Glowing Eyes

Clarisse led me and my sister deep in the woods. Every once in a while, I'd spot a girl with green skin watching us. She hid in the trees when I looked at her. Percy's big dog followed behind us, and my mom was perched on its back. Clarisse had called the dog Mrs. O'Leary, so I guess it was a girl. My sister turned to me. "Hey, Fischer."

"Yeah?"

"Where are we going?"

I sighed. "Casey, I don't know the answers to all your questions."

"...Do you think Percy is gonna be ok?" She looked at me with worry flashing in her eyes. I hesitated, remembering the horrible black wound on his arm, how pale he was, how short his breathing sounded. But this was my twin sister I was talking to. "...Yeah, I'm sure he'll be fine," I told her. I smiled, to make it sound more genuine. She saw right through it. I could tell, because she hid her face behind her long red hair and nodded. "...Ok..." she muttered.

After walking for another 10 minutes, Mrs. O'Leary stopped in her tracks next to a large pine tree. Up ahead was a really big, white farmhouse, surrounded with strawberry fields. There were tons of kids wearing orange shirts and carrying sticks. It looked like some sort of summer camp. My mom climbed off and waved us to her. "Fischer, Casey..." she called. Casey ran up to her. "Yeah, mom?" Mom smiled gently, her dark brown curls falling to her sides. "I can't go any farther than this. The gods won't let me."

I stared at her like she was crazy. "The _gods_? What gods?" Clarisse turned around and glowered. "You got a _lot_ to learn, kid. Listen to your mum, she knows what she's talking about."

"Oh, so now _you're_ crazy, too, huh?" She grabbed me by my collar and Casey squeaked. "Look here, _punk_ ," Clarisse growled. "One of my closest friends nearly gave up his _life_ protecting you. You saw that thing. You see his dog. His _hellhound. The only friendly hellhound in the known world._ You show some _respect_ , or I'll make you show some."

I whimpered and crumpled to my knees after she let me go. Mrs. O'Leary laid down on the grass, panting. "She'll help you, Fischer. Just do as she says, I promise you'll be safer. You both will be safer here," Mom told us. Casey nodded hesitantly and looked at Clarisse. "Is this where Percy is...?" she asked. Clarisse nodded. "I'll take you to him later, just don't pass out from...whatever you feel when you cross." With that, she walked down the hill towards the big white house. Casey started to go after her, but promptly slowed down, her eyes wide with awe at something I couldn't see. I turned around and hugged Mom, telling her goodbye for now. With that, I sucked up all my courage and walked towards Casey.

~o:O:o~

Thanks for the mic, Fischer. Go help Sadie, will you? And stop that grumbling, you sound like Khufu.

Sorry about that. Casey here. Fischer didn't give you all a proper introduction, so I suppose I'll do it. My name is Casey O'Connor, but you probably already know that. My brother, Fischer, and I are twins, 13 years old. He's the older one, by 5 minutes. Can you imagine, losing a _nine month race_ by _five minutes_?

I digress.

When I walked past the tree, everything changed. Along with the farm house, kids in orange, and strawberry patches, there was a stable full of horses, tons of cabins arranged in a big Ω, what looked like a climbing wall with _lava_ , an arena, a racetrack, and a shooting range. Oh and those sticks the kids were holding? They were _weapons._

Needless to say, I was more than surprised.

Fischer ran next to me, slowing down to a jog after he saw what I was looking at.

"...Woah..."

He's such a poet.

Clarisse turned to us and smirked. "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood," she said, holding her arm out, as if presenting the spectacle to us.

"Percy is most likely in the Big House, with Will, our camp medic," she said, pointing at the farm house. "As for the rest of us, we have dinner soon. Dining hall is over there, Bathrooms that way," she said, pointing at the respective buildings. "If you want a tour of the place, talk to Annabeth," she said, pointing to a tall blonde carrying a notepad. "As for me, I need to report to Chiron on what happened. We'll send someone to get you later, prolly after dinner. Go talk to Annabeth," she finished, promptly waving us towards the blonde. Fischer stammered, but he didn't say anything. I grabbed him by his ear and dragged him over to Annabeth.

"Excuse me? Are you Annabeth?" I asked her. She looked down at me, startled. She had stormy grey eyes, I noticed. After she finished looking both me and Fischer over, she nodded. "Yeah, I'm Annabeth. You're new?" Fischer nodded. "Clarisse s-said you'd give us a tour, help us out n'...stuff."

Like I said, poetic.

She nodded again. "Alrighty then, what's your guys' names?"

I smirked at Fischer and his blushing face. "I'm Casey O'Connor, and this is my older twin, Fischer. He lives up to his name, since his brain turnes to fish soup around girls." He openes his mouth to protest, but Annabeth laughed, cutting him off. "Well, nice to meet you two. All the people here at Camp Half-Blood are demigods, or Half-Bloods. Call me crazy, but it's true. My mother is Athena, and this," she said, gesturing to the building in front of her, " is the Athena Cabin." She walked down the rows of cabins, naming them as she passed. "...the Zeus Cabin. There's no one there now, since...well, Jason..." There was obviously sorrow in her voice. It was easy to tell, they had been close and he probably died in some freak accident. "Anyways," Annabeth continued, "this is the Poseidon Cabin. My boyfriend, Percy, stays here. He's basically the camp counselors' counselor." She smiled and continued down the rows. Fischer looked at me, worried. Annabeth was Percy's girlfriend. How was she going to react to the news?

"...the Apollo Cabin. Will is head counselor here, as well as camp medic. Artemis Cabin. No one stays here except the Hunters of Artemis when they visit, since she swore an oath of virginity. And lastly, the Dionysus Cabin. He's the camp director here, but he's worked up quite the temper over the last 80 years. Watch out for him. Pollux is the head counselor, but he's the only Dionysus kid here. Ah, Pollux! Nice timing." A tall boy, apparently Pollux, stepped out from inside the cabin. He had blonde, messy hair and...purple eyes? He wore a plain red baseball cap and jeans, along with the same _Camp Half-Blood_ t-shirt everyone seemed to have.

"Whaddup, Annabeth? New campers?" She nodded. "Pol, this is Fischer and Casey. They just came in, actually." He nodded and grinned. "I wonder what cabin gets these two tonight. Lookin' forward to it," he said, adding a wink at the end. He was kinda cute, in a casual way. Annabeth smiled at me and Fischer, who promptly blushed like a madman. "Let's go meet Rachel. She'll love you guys.

~o:O:o~

Rachel lived in a cave.

Literally.

But it was a nice cave, with a pleasant feel to it. The walls were painted with murals, depicting Greek heroes, both ancient and modern. I saw Hercules, Jason and the Argonauts, Achilles, Ajax, even Helen of Troy. Casey gasped and elbowed me. "Fischer, look," she said, pointing to a mural of Percy and Annabeth, fighting off hoards of monsters in front of the Empire State Building. Behind them was a small army of demigods, and above the Building was a city on a cloud. Olympus, maybe?

The most interesting sight was Rachel, who was obviously the artist. She wore an orange _Camp Half-Blood_ t-shirt like everyone else, along with denim overalls and formerly white vans. She was covered in paint, head to toe. Her curly red hair was tied into a poofy ponytail, and she had a smear of blue paint on her left cheek. Her white vans were covered in greek-style doodles, and her hands were covered in paint, obviously a mixture of several colors, resulting in a dirty brown. She beamed when she saw Annabeth and nearly hugged her, but then she remembered her clothing situation. She settled with a large grin, an ecstatic "Hi!" and an excited wave. She ushered us towards the couch in a corner and bade us sit down. "So, who are these two?" she asked Annabeth. "Rachel, this is Fischer and Casey," she said, pointing to me then to my sister. "We're twins," Casey added. Rachel beamed. "You two are _adorable_ " Annabeth laughed. "Fischer, Casey, this is Rachel, the host of the Spirit of Delphi." Rachel nodded. "You can imagine how _that_ goes. First, I'm having a normal conversation with friends and hanging out, and the next, my eyes start glowing green and I start spouting poetry! Like, _seriously_ _, Delphi?_ " She laughed, which only made me confused. "Wait, you're like... _posessed?_ " She shook her head. "Not my conventional means, no. The previous host was cursed by Hades, so she died before she could find a new one. I made an agreement with the Spirit, so now we are bound. I guess, well, yeah, I _am_ sort of posessed." Annabeth nodded. "Accordimg to the gods, we can't start a quest without a prophecy, which is what Rachel is here for." Rachel nodded. "Yup. Don't get the wrong idea though, I have no control over what the prophecy says or when it comes. For instance, we recieved a prophecy a _long_ time ago about a "child of the Big 3", which is to say, Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon. Originally it was meant for Thalia, but since she joined the Hunters of Artemis before she turned 16, the prophecy was passed to Percy, as the son of Poseidon. He _did_ fulfil it, and survived to tell the tale. That's what this is about," she continued, gesturing to the mural of Percy and Annaneth in front of the Empire State Building. "But anyways, enough of this creepy supernatural stuff! Tell me about you two!"

We ended up talking _way_ longer than I expected us to. Rachel was really nice, and her cave had a nice homey feel. Did I already say that?

(Yes, you did, fish-face)

[Shut up, Casey]

Anyways, she gave us cookies to eat, and we sat in front of the hearth, exchanging stories between the three of us and Annabeth. The weirdest part, though: when Rachel said her eyes glowed green and she started spouting lines of prophecy in the middle of a conversation, she wasn't joking. Annabeth was showing us some of her designs for Olympus, when Rachel muttered 'oh, gods, no' under her breath and her eyes started glowimg green. Annabeth's eyes widened and she grabbed a pad and pencil and started to write her words down.

 _The Leopard and Falcon shall journey far,_

 _Lest chaos engulf and all known worlds_ _scar_

 _By fire or water, order resides,_

 _And in Valhalla the Valkyrie doth guide_

 _The Kite and the Owl must mend the chain_

 _Of Order, and seal that which has been slain_

 _The Grave yield up her pris'ner, long forgot_

 _T_ _he sorceress' mightly battle shall be wrought_

 _By Time shall be left with whom shall deride_

 _And past enemies fight by heroes' side_

 _In caves in the Deep, in caverns below,_

 _Shall Order arise and truth be make known_

 _And deep in the heathens, Chaos shall sleep._

 _A fatal decision, ocean doth guide,_

 _The final fate to be made of mankind_.

And with that, Rachel passed out.

~o:O:o~

[Fischer, gimme the mic!]

(Can I pleeeeease do this part, Percy?)

[No, I gotta do this first]

 **(percy laughs)**

Alright, alright. I lived. I'm sort of ok now. What happened? Well, let's get into that, shall we?

I woke up in the Big House, with Will looking over me, pressing a cold rag to my forehead. The next thing i felt was pain, all the way up my arm. Will had a concerned look on his face. "Percy, what happened?" he asked me. I shook my head. "I got attacked...Clarisse and I...some kind of...poison? Blood?" Will nodded. "It's like a diluted mixture of Gorgon's blood. You might not be able to heal all the way. I...need to talk to Annabeth, of she's ok with what we might need to do if it gets too bad." I nodded and collapsed onto the bed. "Don't push yourself. I got most of the poison out, but there's still some in there." At that moment, the horn sounded for dinner. Will sat up, and suddenly he looked very tired. "Go eat," I told him. He nodded, then went to get something. He came back with a wheelchair. "I gave you some antidote I made earlier, but you won't be able to keep your balance for a while. Use this to get around. And...have someone push you. Don't do it yourself." I snickered. "Whatever you say, Doc."

"Shut up, Jackson."

He wheeled me outside towards the Dining Hall.

~o:O:o~

Dinner was largely uneventful, if you ignore Fischer and Casey's arrival, the reaction the campers had towards me being in a wheelchair (of whom Annaneth shooed away, giving me breathing room. I love that woman) and the mini food fight that erupted at the Hermes cabin. Casey looked pretty happy, but Fischer looked downright troubled. I sat at the Poseidon table, Annabeth seated next to me. Will sat across from me, with Nico at his side. Doctor's orders. Annabeth smacked anyone that tried to talk to me with her fork. After everyone was done eating and the Hermes kids calmed down, Chiron stood in front of the bonfire with Mr. D.

"Welcome, campers!" his loud voice boomed. The campers shouted their welcomes. "Today, we have had two new campers join us here. Welcome, Fischer and Casey," Chiron continued. Mr. D stayed oddly silent as the twins piped their hellos. They had met Piper and Lacy, of whom Casey had become fast friends with. "Dionysus, do you have anything to say concerning thw newcomers?" Mr. D grunted. "Welcome to Camp, kids."

After Chiron went through the schedule amd cabin duties for the week, he turned to me and Clarisse. "Percy, Clarisse, Will. Will the two of you come up here? We have some...news concerning Percy's condition." Clarisse stood, and Annabeth wheeled me next to Chiron. All the campers who didn't know about me gasped, and a hushed whisper fell over them.

"Percy, you start."

So I did.

I told them about how Kaos was waking, how Annabeth and I had sent Grover to tell the Egyptians of the situation. I explained the story of the Egyptians and the Duat, and I told them about the crevasse and my encounter woth the amalgamate. I told them about Fischer amd Casey, and Clarisse filled them in on what happened after I passed out. Will told them about my condition, and how I wasn't to physically exert myself on danger of heart damage and/or paralysis in my left arm. The campers listened intently, and when we finished, all you could hear was the crackling of the bonfire behind us and the chirping of the evening birds. Annabeth stood. "We have one moee thing to announce. We've recieved a prophecy." With this words, campers shouted in retort and curiosity. Meg McCaffrey went so far as to tie down entire tables with vines to calm them down. After they settled, Annabeth turned to Rachel and handed her the notepad. "Rachel, if you will," she said. Rachel nodded and started reading the prophecy.

 _The Leopard and Falcon shall journey far,_

 _Lest chaos engulf and all known worlds scar_

 _By fire or water, order resides,_

 _And in Valhalla the Valkyrie doth guide_

 _The Kite and the Owl must mend the chain_

 _Of Order, and seal that which has been slain_

 _The Grave yield up her pris'ner, long forgot_

 _The sorceress' mightly battle shall be wrought_

 _By Time shall be left with whom shall deride_

 _And past enemies fight by heroes' side_

 _In caves in the Deep, in caverns below,_

 _Shall Order arise and truth be make known_

 _And deep in the heathens, Chaos shall sleep._

 _A fatal decision, ocean doth guide,_

 _The final fate to be made of mankind._

Someone piped up after she finished. "What sort of prophecy is _that_? Why's it so long?" Chiron turned to the camper, who definitely was not a happy camper. "It's a sonnet," he stated. "Shakespeare was most famous for them. Thirteen lines, written with a rhyming scheme and in iambic pentameter. It looks to be complete with a rhyming couplet as well." Annabeth nodded. "Whatever the case, this is serious buisness. We need to find out who this "leopard" and "falcon" is first, before we get on with the rest of the prophecy." Falcon. Horus' animal was the Falcon. "Annabeth," I said, "Horus' symbol is the falcon. Is it talking about Carter...?" She nodded, considering the option. "Its obvious, this is a multi-pantheonic prophecy. We need to get Magnus and Sadie involved. It mentions a Valkyrie, so Magnus can help us with that. And the Kite is Isis' holy animal, so probably Sadie. As for the Leopard..." Mr. D cleared his throat. "And here is where I intervene. The Leopard is _my_ symbol, as many of you know. And...for that manner, I have some claiming to do, as Peter Johnson _did_ make us promise to claim those of you who come here."

"Percy Jackson," I muttered. But I have to say, I was curious as to what he meant. As I was speculating, a bright purple light shown from the Poseidon table, where Fischer, Casey, Rachel, Will and Annabeth were seated. Fischer had his mouth agape, staring at the symbol above him and his sisters' heads. The grapevine. Mr. D smiled for the first time in ages. "Fischer, Casey, I claim you as my children. Welcome, and Pollux, you have some new siblings."

~o:O:o~

 **hoooooh boi, this chapter is long**

 **and yeah, ik what imma do with this story ;)**

 **i did kinda cram a lot into this one tho, sorry.**

 **ill update when i can, so sorry if i have a kinda...sporatic upload schedule**

 **anyways, cya, and wear your seatbelt**


	4. Leo Needs to Stop Blasting Doors Down

Carter Kane here.

Back to my story, now that Percy got his part done.

For now.

After Grover, Marvin and Otis left (he had said some other things about global annihilation, but the Mist and Duat situation was the major bit as of now), there was no way I would be able to sleep that night. Even my _ba_ decided not to wander off. Grover's report kept repeating in my head, about the Duat and the Mist falling apart. Finally, I decided to talk to the one person who I thought could help me out: Sadie.

(Awe, how kind of you, brother!)

[I regret my life choices.]

I got out of bed and pulled on a sweater. Quietly, I slipped out of my bedroom and went next door to Sadie's room. She answered when I knocked, and I was greeted with music blasting from the speakers. _Boulevard of Broken Dreams_ , by Green Day. I cleared my throat, and Sadie turned off the music, ushering me inside. "So," she began, before I cut her off.

"So I just had my room invaded by three goats and one of them was Grover who is Percy's satyr friend and the other two said they were the goats of Thor but that's weird because Thor is a Norse god and as far as we know there are only Roman, Egyptian, and Greek gods but apparently there are Norse ones as well so that was weird but then they told me that they have a problem with a Greek version of Apophis only much much much more powerful named Kaos and apparently she's trying to break out of a prison she made for herself??? Like, I think someone is trying to wake her but she doesn't want to but that's just speculation, since when was I ever right on this sort of stuff but then Grover said that's the reason the Mist is falling apart and the Duat is being destroyed, because a primordial being that doesn't want to be awoken is being awakened and do you know anything about this because I'm freaking out, if the Duat falls apart then Apophis will rise again and then the world will go crazy and the monsters will be visible to mortals and that could result in _global annihilation_."

Sadie patiently waited for me to finish

(like the good sister I am!)

[Sadie, _shut up_ ] , then nodded and looked at me. "So, you're saying that three ninja goats broke into your room,"

"They weren't ninja goats, more like goats-who-tried-to-be-sneaky-but-failed-miserably."

She continued.

"-told you about a global crisis, where someone is trying to awaken the god/goddess Kaos-"

"The Greeks refer to Kaos as a goddess, but that's only because she is the birthplace of all things. In reality, Kaos is gender-neutral."

"-and on completion of said awakening, the world will be destroyed. Right?"

I nodded. "Sounds about right."

She nodded again and continued. "I'm assuming you came to me to help with the whole Duat situation?"

"Yeah..."

"And how do you expect me to do that?"

I looked at her, stunned. "...What do you mean?"

"I mean, how am I supposed to help you? I know as much of the Duat as _you_ do, which is to say, very little."

"Hey!"

"You know it's true."

I sighed in defeat. "Yeah, I do know..."

"What I'm trying to say is, you've come to the wrong person for advice. I doubt there's anyone out there that _can_ help you, honestly. Maybe you should contact Percy and Annabeth, since they reached out to you. They might know more." I nodded, considering her option. "Alright, I'll do it. But can I bring some of our magicians with us, in case something happens? Bast can stay here to oversee the stuff going on." Sadie flopped onto her bed. "Yeah, that's fine. I take it I'm going...?"

"Yeah, I wanna bring you, Walt, and Jaz. If you're ok with that."

Sadie nodded once again. "That sounds fine. We'll announce at breakfast tomorrow. When do we leave?"

"As soon as possible."

~o:O:o~

As planned, Sadie announced the situation and our plans so far at breakfast the next day. Amos and Zia had returned shortly after Sadie and I fell asleep, so they added input as necessary. Philip of Macedonia thrashed in the water when we mentioned Otis and Marvin, which was slightly amusing yet concerning. Did Amos know about the Norse as well? I made a mental note to ask him about that later.

"Due to lack of information and the Greeks' surperior knowledge on the matter, Carter and Sadie have decided to go talk to them and ask what role we are to play in this. Information is a necessity, and we do not have enough of that as is. Carter, who do you want to bring with you when you visit?" Uncle Amos asked. I stood up and cleared my throat. "I'd like to bring Sadie, Walt, and Jaz, just in case anything goes wrong. Is that alright, Amos?" I asked my uncle. He closed his eyes and considered the offer, then nodded, approving my decision. "Although I would like to keep Jaz here, I feel that it would be best to go, in case anyone were injured with you. Besides, she has been training three other magicians as medics, so we should be fine should anything arise in your absense." Sadie nodded and stood up. "Alright then, we leave after lunch today, alright? You all go get ready, we'll be gone a few days." Walt and Jaz nodded, then left to prepare for the trip. With that, breakfast was adjourned and our initiates went to their respective classes.

I sighed and turned towards my uncle. "Amos, what do you know about the Norse, and what were you researching in the First Nome?"

He looked towards his plate, his chin resting in his hands. His fedora was tipped forward, blocking his eyes from my line of sight. "About the Norse...I only know that they are a pantheon just as real as ours or the Greeks, and that they mean no harm to us. However," he said, pausing. "We must be very careful with our next moves. We are in a dangerous situation, and they are watching us as to decide whether we are friend or foe. I would much rather be fighting alongside the Norse _einherji_ than against them. I have seen them fight. They are a formidable force."

"And what of the First Nome? What did you find there?"

He furrowed his eyebrows and looked down again. "I'm not sure what to make of it...only that I know it will play a crucial role in the upcoming battles. When I make sense of it, I will tell you. For now, I think it best you do not know." I nodded, perplexed be his answer. Why could I not know? Was Set influencing him? Or was he really trying to protect me? Protect me from what? Hundreds of questions arose, and none were answered. I sighed and nodded once again. "Alright, Amos. I'll work with what I have, then. Thank you." I stood from my seat next to the Chief Lector and went inside to get ready.

~o:O:o~

My knife clattered to the ground as Piper's pressed against my throat. My eyes went cross-eyed at trying to watch the knife, then Piper eased up and sheathed her own blade. She sighed and plopped into the grass beside me. "Casey...maybe knife fighting isn't for you," she said. I sighed and plopped onto the ground next to her, breathing hard. I had to agree. "Then...what do I learn? Fischer's already learning sword fighting, and he's good." Piper paused, thinking. "The thing is...we don't know much about Dionysus kids and their powers. If you want advice, you'd best be talking to Pollux or your father. Sorry I couldn't help more, Casey."

"It's fine..." I began thinking about what to do next. Maybe talk to Pollux for some things I could work on for training? Or talk to Mr. D about it. I have no clue. I got up and sighed, taking off my armor and handing Piper my weapon. "I'll go talk to Pollux, ok? Thanks for your help," I said, giving her a quick hug. She smiled and hugged me back. "No problem, Casey. Hit me up if you need anything, okay?" I nodded and ran off towards the Dionysus Cabin.

"Pollux!" I shouted, after opening the door inside. "Pol?"

"Yeah!" He called from the back. I went around behind the cabin and found him crushing some strawberries in a barrel. He looked to have gotten quite a few, as the large barrel was halfway full. "Whatcha doin, Pol?" I asked him. He smiled and waved me over. "Come and see for yourself." He poured in half a bag of sugar, then sprinkled some sort of powder inside. "Yeast," he told me. "I'm making strawberry juice, been experimenting with the recipe for a while. But we can't make wine, 'cause Zeus won't let us. Long story," he added, when he saw my puzzled expression. "Basically, Dad can't have wine as punishment for chasing Zeus's favorite wood nymph, so now he has to run this camp for 100 years and drink Diet Coke instead." I nodded, a bit more understanding now. "Anyways, what did ya need, Case?" he asked me. "I was wondering if you knew of any skills I should work on..." I said, a bit shy all of a sudden. "Combat-wise," I added. "I wanna be of use to this place." He nodded and pondered a bit. "You know..."

"Hm?"

"I wasn't always the Dionysus Cabin head counsellor," he said with a sheepish grin.

"Obviously," I snorted.

He looked into the barrel of juice he was making. "Before me was Castor. We...we were twins, like you and Fischer. He was great with a sword. All Dionysus kids are gifted with a certain weapon 'cause he used to be a hero and all. But anyways...

"Almost exactly three years ago, we were going through the Titan War. The titan king, Kronos, wanted to overthrow the Olympian gods and retake his place as king. Percy played a role in Kronos' defeat. Before the Battle for Manhatten, Kronos' forces had found a way into camp, even with the barrier. They had discovered an entrance to the Labyrinth of Daedalus inside our walls, and they exploited it to attack us. Keep in mind, the Labyrinth is self-conscious and ever-expanding. So long as you know where you are going, you can get to any point on earth with it. Provided that you survive the trip.

"There was...a big fight when they made it here. Annabeth and Percy had tried to prevent it, but they could only delay them. Castor...he fell protecting me. He died in my arms," he said, holding back his tears. "And why am I telling you this?" he told me. I watched him, curious of the answer. "Because you and Fischer are the first family I've had since then. My mother died when we were five, and we were raised as a foster child since then. They all rejected us. Castor was the only real family I had, and now that he's gone, you and Fischer have filled that for me. I'm telling you because I know why you want to learn."

"You do?"

"You heard the prophecy, Casey. I know you want to play a role in it. I won't hold you back, but I will tell you that not everyone will make it out of this alive. Please, be careful."

I nodded slowly and gave him a hug. He was my big brother, after all. "I'll be careful. I'll keep Fischer safe, because I know he's reckless and stupid. But what should I work on? I think it would be best to get as much training as possible in before I need to go."

He laughed quietly. "I'm not sure, honestly. Go look around in the armory, maybe they have something for you there. As for right now, lets get some lunch."

~o:O:o~

It was a mild inconvenience that we couldn't pass the borders of the Greek camp. I even tried _fah_ but the barrier stayed strong. As such, we were resorted to more...conventional means.

Carter cupped his hands and shouted. "Percy! Annabeth! We need to talk!" Several of the camper's heads turned towards us and eyed us suspiciously. "We are Sadie and Carter Kane of the Twenty-First Nome of Egypt! Go find Annabeth!" I shouted. One of the campers, a tall, mean-looking girl, walked up to us. "Whaddya want, _punk,_ " she sneered.

"To talk with Percy and Annabeth. The Egyptians are joining this fight."

"And why do you need to talk to them for that, huh?"

"Clarisse!" a new voice shouted. "Let them through!"

The big girl, Clarisse, growled and did as she was told. "Just a fair warning, if I catch _any_ of you doin something against camp rules, I, personally, will wring your neck." she told me. She the touched the barrier and looked at me expectantly. "Full names. Spill."

"Sadie Kane, Carter Kane, Walt Stone, and Jasmine Anderson."

Jaz smiled. "If you call me Jasmine, I will slit your throat in your sleep."

Clarisse grunted. "Yeah, whatever. I, Clarisse la Rue, give permission for Sadie Kane, Carter Kane, Walt Stone, and Jasmine Anderson to pass this barrier freely." She finished and glared at us. "I'm only being nice because Annabeth is gonna give the whole Ares cabin dish duty if i don't and we got races today. No way in tartarus am I gonna miss those."

I nodded amd continued down the hill, towards the big white house. "Thanks, Clarisse," I called to the big girl. She looked like someone I could be friends with. Carter and the others followed, and Annabeth ran up to me, tackling me to the ground in a bear hug.

"Sadie!"

"Annabeth! Goodness, how _are_ you?"

"I'm fine. Hi, Carter. Who's your friends?"

"This is my boyfriend, Walt, and our awesome amazing medic Jaz," I told her, pointing to each as I named them. Annabeth beamed and waved at each. "I'm Annabeth, head of the Athena Cabin and head architect of Olympus. Nice to see you guys!"

"Where's Percy?" Carter asked. Annabeth's face fell. "He's...he got hurt, and it's not healing... Will said if it gets any worse, me might need to...Never mind, he's in the Big House, if you wanna talk to him."

"Percy's her boyfriend and the son of Poseidon," I added quickly. Walt and Jaz nodded. "Is he british? He has a british name..." Jaz asked. Annabeth laughed. "No, he's very much American. Percy is short for Perseus. Perseus Jackson."

Jaz's mouth opened into an 'O' and she nodded. Carter's stomach growled. "...I'm hungry..." Walt looked at him wide-eyed. "Dude, we _just_ ate. How are you already hungry?"

"I have a fast metabolism."

Walt sighed, and Annabeth laughed. "Come on, we got some food for you from lunch. It's at the House right now, so the harpies don't get it."

~o:O:o~

"Percy, I'm not joking about this. This wound is serious, even with the majority of the poison removed. I don't know why it's not healing, but we can't take any risks," Will told me. I sighed. "Yeah, I figured as much...Is what Annabeth said actually...?"

"Very much possible? Yes. Yes it is. You might lose your-" He was interrupted with the door swinging open. Annabeth came inside, followed by Sadie, Carter, and who I assumed was Walt and Jaz. Will turned towards Annabeth. "Annie, I might need to move him to the Apollo Cabin to take care of this. I have no idea what's wrong, but whatever I try doesn't work. I doubt it's purely Greek. Percy, describe the monster again...?" he asked me, while eyeing the newcomers. "And who is this?" he asked. I cleared my throat. "Will, this is Carter and Sadie Kane, and I'm assuming you two are Walt and Jaz?" They nodded and sat down. "Guys, this is Will Solace, head of the Apollo Cabin and camp medic." Will smiled tiredly and waved. Jaz waved back. "You said the wound isn't completely Greek...? Can I take a look? I'm the head medic of the Twenty-First nome." Will nodded and ushered her to my arm. She studied the black wound and poked it a bit. I bit my lip to keep from screaming. "...Damnit, woman, that _hurts_ ," I growled. Jaz laughed. "Percy, be nice. She's trying to help you," Annabeth scolded. I rolled my eyes and gave her an authentic Percy Jackson smirk. She blushed. She always did. "Ok, _mom,_ " I told her. She nearly smacked me. "If you have the energy to joke aroumd you shouldn't be complaining."

I shut up.

Jaz finished and sighed. "It looked like an egyptian gryphon bite, but it's obviously more than that. Probably a mutant of some sort. There's some sort of virus, causing inflammation and necrosis. If it reaches the bone, you'll have to amputate. Sorry I couldn't help more," she said to Will. He nodded, astounded at her findings. Before he could continue, a new voice interrupted. "Don't get too comfortable with him, Will's _mine._ "

"Nico!" Will sighed. Nico di Angelo stepped out of the shadows, looking as pale as always. Sadie gasped. "You look like Anubis," she said. Walt nodded. "He does."

"Does the fact that I'm _literally_ the son of death help? Ironic, isn't it?" Nico said. "A son of Hades, who specializes in death, dating a son of Apollo, who specializes in life."

"Nico?"

"Yeah, Perce?"

"You gay, bruh."

"I will personally wring your neck as soon as you are out of that wheelchair."

"Truce?"

"Truce."

We shook on it. "So," Nico asked. "What brings you guys here?" Carter straightened in his seat. "Grover told us about the current situation . And...do you know two goats named Otis and Marvin? They were with him." Annabeth flashed me a worried look. I nodded. "Yeah, they're the goats of Thor. Annabeth's cousin, Magnus, is Norse. He knows them. He should be here sometime tomorro-"

The door blasted open, charred and burning.

"Leo Valdez is in the _house_!" he shouted. Sadie doubled over laughing and Walt uttered a spell, _hi-nehm_ , and the door repaired itself. I groaned. "Leo, we've been over this. You can't go around blasting doors open with cheesy lines, Hephaestus kid or not."

"Shush, Perce."

"I'll shush."

Nico turned to Leo. "What did ya need, man?"

"See, Percy? Nico acknowledges my manliness."

"Actually, I don't. I only called you that because I felt bad for you, being so scrawny and all."

Carter sighed. "Guys, this is _important._ Annabeth, help me out here." Leo scratched his head. "Was just curious of the neecomers, since I got nothin'on me at the moment."

"Percy, tell him about what you and Clarisse found," Annabeth told me. I sighed and once again recounted our findings on our little scouting and how I got my injury. Walt watched me intently, which was unsettling. When I told them about how the amalgamate had bitten me and with the splash of acid, he went and whispered something to Nico. Nico furrowed his eyebrows and whispered something back. Walt replyed while eyeing me and Nico nodded, only making me more curious of their exchange. Carter and Sadie listened intently as I spoke.

"You're gonna die if you don't do something about that wound. It's a curse, and the only way people have survived wounds like that is through...amputation," Walt said when I finished. He looked at Nico for confirmation, who then nodded. My breath hitched in my throat. I probably paled as well, because Annabeth stood to help me. Will sat her back down. "Percy...I was going to tell you sooner or later, but it seems Walt and Nico beat me to it," he said sheepishly.

(And that's the story of how Percy lost his arm!)

[Fischer, be quiet]

(Ok)

I nodded, steadying my breathing. "So um...My family doesn't know...about...my situation..." Annabeth nodded. "I'll IM them. Don't worry about it." I nodded again, satisfied that Annabeth was taking care of it. She kissed my cheek, muttered a quick 'love ya' to which I happily followed suite, then left to IM my family.

"Well then. Leo, can you make me a new arm? Just something simple," I added, before he got any ideas. "Not right now, after...they do it. When will that be?" I asked Will and Jaz, since I assumed they would be the ones to do it. Will looled at Jaz, then back at me. "Tomorrow or the day after, whichever is fine. That good?" Jaz nodded. "This would be the first amputation for me, so don't expect me to lead," she said. I laughed. "No worries, Will has done several. Hephaestus cabin knows how to make prosthetics." Leo nodded. "We've had our share of machinery incidents. No worries there, man."

Alright then. So, amputation tomorrow.

Whoopee.

Looks like I'm out of the game for a while.

~o:O:o~

 **this chapter was a bit messy, sorry.**

 **am i the only one who has trouble staying on track because "ooh this detail would be fun" and then ends up focusing a majority of the chapter on it?**

 **just me?**

 **ok**

 **anyways, pls read and review, feedback is greatly appreciated**

 **thanks all**

 **cya, and wear your seatbelt**


	5. And That's How Percy Lost His Left Hand!

**oh wA0w its chApter fIve guys**

 **also as a reply to a guest reviewer, yes, it _is_ Chaos, but for the sake of this story i changed it to Kaos because of different traits. ig im trying to say that this Kaos and the original pjo Chaos are different.**

 **ok**

 **story time**

~o:O:o~

Sadie asked me to show her where the rift was. Unfortunatly, I wasn't there during the fight. I told her to go talk to Casey and Fischer, or maybe Clarisse.

She didn't seem to be in a rush to talk to Clarisse.

Which was understandable, the girl was a monster.

(Agreed.)

[Be quiet, Percy.]

I went over to the Athena cabin and grabbed a spray bottle and a few drachmas. I went out back and sprayed the water in the air, tossing a gold drachma into the rainbow (you know, the usual stuff). "Sally Jackson. Upper East Side, Manhatten." The rainbow shimmered and showed a small apartment. Percy's mother sat on a small sofa next to her husband, Paul. Seated on her lap was a little girl, still only a toddler. Estelle. "Sally!"

She turned and looked at me, startled.

"Annabeth! How is Percy?" Stella giggled at the sound of her brother's name. I hesitated. "He's...the reason I called, actually." Her face fell, and Paul looked up. "Is he alright?" he asked me. I shook my head slowly. "...He was attacked by some creature. The wound was poisoned, and well...how do I explain this? His arm isn't healing and can't get the proper bloodflow, and the poison is causing rapid necrosis and inflammation around the wound. Both Will and Nico agree that the best thing to do about this is, well...amputation..."

Sally paled. "There's no antidote or antivenom of some sort?" I shook my head. "...Not one we know of. Sally, I'm...I'm sorry." Paul sat quietly, his eyes closed like he was asleep. He wasn't sleeping, though. He was thinking. "How long will it take him to recover?" he asked. I shook my head. "I'm not sure, but I'll ask Chiron to send him to Atlantis to recover. Poseidon should be more than happy to take him in. Not so sure about Amphirite, though." Sally exhaled and leaned back. She pulled Estelle close and nodded. "I think you're right, about him going to Atlantis." She sat up. "Annabeth, take care of him. You know how he is, he'll try to help even with his injury." I smiled and nodded. "You know me, Sally. I'm already doing that." She smiled and sighed. "That boy is so lucky to have a girl like you. Thank you for telling us, dear. Now, don't you have someone to take care of?"

~o:O:o~

Lacy and Fischer were sneezing as we went through the piles of weapons Camp Half-Blood had in stock while other demigods went straight to their own weapons. There were more swords and spears than I could count, and boxes upon boxes of Celestial Bronze arrows. Three entire racks were lined with bows, and next that was a bin full of Celestial Bronze pellets, each about half an inch in diameter. Leather strips hung above it, each about 4 feet long.

"What are those?" I asked, pointing at the strips. Sherman Yang, the Ares Cabin counselor, turned around to look at what "those" were. "Oh, those? They're slings. Wanna try 'em out, Casey?" I had a flashback of a David and Goliath movie I had watched when I was little. I didn't like the movie, even when I was younger. I shook my head. "Nah, was just curious." I picked up a bow and imagined myself shooting like Kayla and Will. "Can I try this one?" I asked Sherman. He nodded and grabbed a slightly smaller bow. He handed said bow to me, claiming that "the bow ya got righnow is a bit too big on ya". He handed me some arrows and pointed me towards the archery range.

~o:O:o~

"Chiron, my sister and I want to help with this fight. Percy understands why, and I hope you do." Chiron sighed and continued to londer on my request. "Your uncle and I have tried very hard to keep the Egyptians and Greeks apart. Even more so than when we tried to keep the Romans and Greeks apart. You know full well why, Carter." I nodded. "Ptolemic magjc is some of the most powerful magic known to man and hod alike. If any of us, Greek or Egyptian, were to turn traitor, it would be devastating to both sides. Right?" The old centaur nodded. "That is correct. I- We've had our fair share of...traitors, here at camp..." His eyes held a melancholy look to them, as if reminiscing an old memory.

Or comrade.

"We have magicians all across the world, so keeping them apart woild be near impossible...Unfortunately, we have no way to moniter all the nomes and every magician in them. If it were so, then...things would be _very_ different, I'm afraid." Chiron sighed. "I understand, Carter. But from what I have studied and witnessed, and according to our new prophecy, we have no choice but to ally with the Egyptians."

"What prophecy?" He waved aside my question. "You will hear it after dinner, when we will be discussing it. I will give you a copy to give to your magicians in Brooklyn, but please, save the questions concerning the prophecy for later. I'm afraid I have no solid proof based on my own findings to show you." I nodded and stood. "So it's decided? We fight together on this?" Chiron wheeled over to me. "Yes, it's the best and possibly only chance we have to win this battle." I nodded again and headed for the door. "Will we discuss this over dinner?"

"Perhaps after, when we gather our counselors for a meeting. Is that alright?" I smiled. "Yeah, that'll be fine. Meet where?"

"Here, in the game room after dinner." I nodded again and headed out the door. "Thanks for this, I'll see you at dinner?"

"Yes, I suppose so. Best of luck until then, Carter Kane," he said, with a twinkle in his eyes. I could only imagine what he meant for that.

~o:O:o~

Thr place that Clarisse led me to (because Fischer and Casey were currently training in the arena) was on the southern shore of Long Island Beach. A dim red glow shone to the east, reminding me of the power of Apophis, the Egyptian embodiment of Chaos. I shivered slightly at the sight of it. trying to push those battles to the back of my mind. "That's the crevasse Percy told us about?" I asked Clarisse as I turned to face her. She nodded warily, obviously not wanting to have another run-in with a creature of Chaos. I grunted like Khufu in response and started up the sandy hill towards the glow.

What greeted me was...both unsurprising and very very surprising.

How is that possible, might you ask?

Take a good, long, look at my bloody life history.

Done?

Alright, let's continue.

What I saw in front of me was a crevasse, out of which poured red light and seethed with chaotic energy. That was the unsurprising part.

Now, _beneath_ that, in the Duat?

 _That_ was the surprising part.

I saw a man, clad in black armor, standing beside the rift. His sword was inside it, and around him swirled all sorts of creatures similar to what Percy and Clarisse had described. The man was huge; ten feet of pure chaos and destruction. His face, or where his face should have been, was a swirling vortex of lost and tortured souls.

He looked like the embodiment of hell.

Which he probably was.

He only one hand locked around his monstrous blade. His other hand was curled around a cord, looking to be made of a similar substance as his armor. He pulled on the rope, tighter and tighter. Each time he tugged, a ghastly scream erupted from the depths. Probably from whatever was on the end of the old cuckold's rope. The creatures aeound him writhed, like they shared a 'hive mind' of sorts. They too screamed when the man tugged on the rope. As I was watching, the man turned to me and pointed to me, letting go of the blade.

"Behold the release of Kaos!" his beastly voice boomed. It sounded like the millions of tortured souls inside of him.

"Her anger is kindling, and with her release, a New Age will arise! Give this message to your pathetic demigod _friends_ : that Tartarus himself has taken matters into his own hands, once and for all!"

So, we gotta fight him?

Bloody hell.

I grabbed Clarisse and ran.

We didn't slow down until we were almost back at the camp. Clarisse looked to be pissed off, confused, tired, and, dare I say, concerned, all at the same time. "Why in Tartarus are we running?" she asked pisconfuredcernedly. I slowed down a bit for her. "You know of the Duat?"

She gave me a blank look.

I sighed. "The Mist?"

She nodded.

"Think of the Duat as another side of this world, built with layers upon layers of magic. The Mist is the topmost layer and most common source of magic."

"So like...a magic realm to this physical one."

"Bingo. It's not exactly the same as this world, but they _do_ mirror each other in some ways. Because I host Isis, goddess of Magic, I can see into the Duat. Ask Carter for more info. For now, we gotta warn camp. There's a primordial god trying to free Kaos."

~o:O:o~

Do I really need to intruduce myself whenever I take over?

I'm hoping you all know who I am, so I just won't bother anymore.

If you don't know, then ask someone else who probably does know.

Or keep listening.

Whatever.

Percy was under heavy anesthesia when Will finally sent Nico and me out. Knowing him, he was probably mentally going through the list of instruments he'd need for this surgery. I had said a prayer to Apollo yesterday, praying for the success and safety of both Percy and Will. Nico leaned against the wall and watched me closely. "Annabeth," he called. "Don't doubt Will, ok?" I chuckled humorlessly. "Oh, I don't doubt his skill, Nico. I've seen him heal unhealable injuries, cure uncurable diseases. No, I don't doubt him. But I'm still scared, and I have no idea why."

"Because you're scared that Percy won't be quite the same after this, right?" I stayed quiet. He was right, again. It was unsettling, how well he was able to read me, like I was an open book. I was supposed to read, not be read. **(A/N: Yes, I threw that in there just to mess with you :p)** I sighed and nodded. "...Yeah, I am." He nodded and sat down, still leaning against the wall. "We've both watched him grow up, Annabeth. He's been through a lot, and has made it out again more or less okay. Heck, he's been to hell and back and still managed to keep himself sane. You have, too. Don't doubt him now." Once again, I was silent. Gods above, I am the daughter of the embodiment of wisdom! I mentally chided myself for not speaking up. Nico stood once again. "Well, you're welcome to stand outside the Apollo cabin until Percy wakes up, but he won't be up before dinner. Tomorrow, yeah." I nodded and sat next to where he stood. "I think I'll stay here until then, but I do need to make it to dinner. There's a counselor meeting after dinner, in case you didn't know." He nodded. "Thanks for the reminder," he said, before he headed off towards the arena.

~o:O:o~

I just about broke the bow I was using out of frustration.

Yep, Casey O'Connor here, Archer Extraordinaire.

I had been shooting for nearly two hours, with no progress whatsoever. Every single shot missed.

Every.

Single.

Shot.

You can imagine why I was so frustrated. Every weapon I had tried so far proved to be unfruitful. Sword? Nope, Connor Stoll clearly didn't think it was for me. Percy had watched, he agreed. Lance? Spear? _Any_ polearm? Sherman Yang had watched me practice and tried to help, but it was clear that it wasn't for me ans he made it known vocally. Daggers? Knives? You heard about what happened with Piper. And now archery. Kayla Knowles had tried so hard, but she couldn't succeed. I put my bow and quiver down and took some deep breaths like my mother taught me to do. "Kayla, I'm sorry but I don't think archery is for me." She looked visibly relieved when I told her that. She nodded, her green-streaked hair flying wildly around her face in the wind. "I think so, too," she told me. "Why don't you go over to the Euros creek before dinner? I think you could use some quiet time." I nodded, then gave her a quick hug. She patted my red hair and smiled. "Go down to the creek, or you won't have time later, silly." I nodded and ran off, flashing her one last smile before I left.

Funny, I feel like I've gained like, 12 aunts ever since I got here.

Anyways, about half an hour later, I made it to the Euros creek, which was just north of the range. I stopped at the bank, then took off my socks and shoes as I waded in. The water licked my ankles and felt quite refreshing. I bent down and picked up a few flat pebbles from the creek. I skipped them across the water, absently thinking about...well, whatever came to mind. Absently, I wondered if Percy was ok and if Annabeth was doing alright, with the surgery and all. My mind wandered to that day on the beach, with Fischer and my mom.

I missed her, even though it's only been about a week.

The image of that nightmarish creature kept coming to mind. I slowly became more frustrated, hurling the pebbles with more force. The opposite bank was littered with skipping stones.

 _Calm down, child._

I froze.

Across the creek, a face materialized in the bark of a tree. It showed the sleeping face of a woman, then a man. It shifted constantly, between man, woman, and beast.

 _You must free me,_ the disembodied voice said. The mouth of the face did not move, and its eyes remained closed.

 _Free me, or I must awaken._

I threw the rock in my hand as hard as I could, which landed solidly in the face's nose, surprising even myself. The voice groaned, and the face vanished. There was large dent in the trunk of the tree where I threw the rock.

 _Free me, or your world will fall to the Ruler of Darkness..._

~o:O:o~

The dinner horn sounded about three hours after Will had finished with Percy. He was concious, surprisinglt. Will had told me he wouldn't wake up for another 5 hours or so. "Annabeth?" he asked me quietly. I looked up at him and he smiled. "Yes?"

"I'm hungry. Can we go eat?"

I nearly smacked him if not for the bangages on his now stump-of-a-left-arm. "Percy-"

"I know I probably shouldn't get up buy I'm already awake and that's something. Besides, you _know_ I've had worse."

"I highly doubt that you've lost a limb before, Percy."

"You get my point."

I sighed. "Percy, you aren't leaving this room and that's _final."_

He pouted. "I think I should have a say in the meeting at and after dinner, you know. Besides, I got that wheelchair Will gave me."

Of course, he drops something I can't argue against.

I sigh again. "Fine. But-"

He claps his hand happily.

Or, he attempts to.

"You only have one hand," I tell him. He winces. "Yeah, that reality just settled on me. Let's go eat, eating is good."

I shook my head and smiled a bit. "Hold your horses, Seaweed Brain. Let's get you in your wheelchair." He flashes me a lopsided grin and I feel my face heat up.

"I love you _so_ much, Wise Girl."

"Shut up, Percy."

~o:O:o~

Will squawked when he saw me at dinner. Once again, the campers flooded me to see if my arm "really was amputated" and to tell me that "Leo is already making a new one". Annabeth once again swatted them all away with her fork.

Did I mention how much I love that woman?

Because I really, _really_ , love that woman.

Carter, Sadie, Jaz and Walt sat at different tables. Carter was with the Ares kids, bei g gods of war and all. Sadie sat with the two Hecate kids, Marionne and Christy. Jaz was with the Apollo kids, probably talking medical stuff. And Walt sat with Nico at the Hades table, which was surprising. Normally Nico sat at the Apollo table with Will (because he had recieved "doctor's orders" and Chiron just went with it), but I suppose he spoke to Will about it.

Dinner was simple; grilled cheese and tomato soup. I filled my glass about 4 times with Berry Fanta, so by the time dinner was over and we started talking about the prophecy, I was on a bit of a sugar rush.

Just a bit.

Annabeth noticed, but didn't say anything.

I love that woman.

Chiron cleared his throat and once again welcomed the campers. "We have some...Interesting guests!" his loud voice boomed. "We welcome the Magicians of Egypt with open arms tonight! Carter, Sadie, if you will," he said, gesturing towards them at their respective tables. They both stood, and the two of them, along with Jaz and Walt, went and stood with Chiron. Carter cleared his throat.

"So uh, I'm Carter Kane, and this is my sister Sadie Kane, our friend/medic Jaz Anderson, and Sadie's boyfriend Walt Stone. And...Yeah, we're Egyptian."

One of our campers (Clovis, from the Hypnos cabin, I noted) sleepily raised his hand.

"Yes?"

"So uh...(yawn), Where are you guys from...?" he asked them. Carter pointed west. "My sister and I are the head magicians of the Twenty-First Nome of Egypt, which is Brooklyn, New York." Sadie quickly butted in and explained the Egyptian system to the campers. Carter waited patiently for her to finish, slightly annoyed at her interruption. "Anyways, we've seen signs of something...very bad, from our point of view. From what we know, we can't fight this threat alone. Neither of us can.

"We're here to ask for an alliance with you Greeks. We have some powerful magicians among us, and several hosts as well. I, for one, am the host of Horus, god of War. Sadie is the host of Isis, goddess of Magic, and Walt is the host of Anubis, god of Death. We can offer our assistance in both combat and practical means, if it means we can protect our home as magicians of the House of Life." Sadie nodded in approval of his little speech, and continued with her own words. "A year ago, my brother met Percy and I myself met Annabeth. We have worked rogether to imprison a...mischevious spirit, a former magician and one of the most powerful this world has ever seen. Setne, son of Ramses. He was a pain in the arse."

Carter elbowed her and she scowled. "What? He tried to become a god!"

"You can't say things like that right now, geez," Carter hissed. The campers laughed as Sadie rolled her eyes. "Anyways, what my dear brother and I are trying to say is, we already are on good terms with you guys, and that we would like to combine forces and form an alliance to conquer this shared threat," she told them. There was murmuring and nods of approval among the demigods, and Annabeth stood.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but Carter and Sadie have proved to be some of my closest friends. We have no reason not to trust them, especially now. I say we accept their invitation and meet the other magicians among them. Who's with me?" she shouted. The campers roared in approval when they saw Annabeth's support. Besides, Annabeth is almost _never_ wrong. Chiron smiled and bade the Egyptians to sit down. When they took their seats, he cleared his throat and continued. "We will go over the legalities later, to make it more binding. As for now, we have a prophesy to discuss. Rachel, if you will." Rachel stood from her seat and once again read the prophecy.

 _The Leopard and Falcon shall journey far,_

 _Lest chaos engulf and all known worlds scar_

 _By fire or water, order resides,_

 _And in Valhalla the Valkyrie doth guide_

 _The Kite and the Owl must mend the chain_

 _Of Order, and seal that which has been slain_

 _The Grave yield up her pris'ner, long forgot_

 _The sorceress' mighty battle shall be wrought_

 _By Time shall be left with whom shall deride_

 _And past enemies fight by heroes' side_

 _In caves in the Deep, in caverns below,_

 _Shall Order arise and truth be make known_

 _And deep in the heathens, Chaos shall sleep._

 _A fatal decision, ocean doth guide,_

 _The final fate to be made of mankind."_

By now, most of the campers had heard it so many times they could repeat in in their sleep. Carter, Sadie, Will and Jaz studied their carefully copied page as she read, while Carter mouthed the words to himself. After he finished, he let out a shakey breath and looked up. "So... The Falcon and the Kite mentioned are my sister and I. There's nothing else that could match that we know of at the moment." I cleared my throat and spoke up. "The Leopard is the symbol of Dionysus, and we just recently had Fischer and Casey claimed by none other than Mr. D. The line ' _by Time shall be left with whom shall deride, and past enemies fight by heroes' side'_ unsettles me, though. One of our enemies was Kronos-"

At the mention of his name, Clarisse slams her fists against the table. "That- that _murderer,_ he's a _killer_ , Jackson," she growled. "No way in Tartarus are we ever going to trust him! He killed Silena and Beckendorf! And Castor and Nakamura and he...he nearly got Chris," she finished, shaking with rage. The other campers roared angrily, shouting insults to Kronos and his Titans. Annabeth stood and tried to calm them, to no avail. She looked to Piper for help, who got the message and stood up on her table. "Everyone! _Be quiet!_ He's not finished!" Not surprisingly, they all quieted at her charmspeak. They were still upset that I brought him up, though. I cleared my throat and continued. "As I was saying, Kronos was our...enemy, as we all so clearly remember. However, he _is_ the Lord of Time, and I'm 99% certain that it is referring to him here, as it specifically states that we will be fighting side by side with former enemies."

" _Current_ enemies," Clarisse growled. I nodded. "That much we know right now. But, as with the Egyptians, we may have no choice on this. Then again, this is just a theory, so don't take it seriously. Now then, I think this calls for a quest?" I asked Chiron. He nodded. "It does indeed. Alright then, let's see. Carter, you and one of the Dionysus children will go to Valhalla. You need to find the valkyrie the prophesy speaks of. Sadie, you choose an Athena child-"

"Annabeth!" she squeaked, then cleared her throat. "Um, that is, we get along best and she has the most experience. If that's alright." Chiron nodded warily and contibued. "At some point, you two will have to put Kaos to rest and seal her prison. As of now, that is all we can gather from this prophesy. Unfortunately, it's extremely vague as to what needs to happen. Carter, Sadie, Annabeth, you have one week to prepare. During that week, we'll be meeting your magicians, alright?" They both nodded and sat.

"We'll be ready for you Greeks," Sadie says. "You all will be _quite_ fun to duel with."

~o:O:o~

 **hooo boi this chapter has a lot of breaks**

 **sorry for being kinda late on this, im a bit busy at the moment and...i really need a new phone**

 **anyways, thanka so much for everyone who reads this, you all are so _awesome_ it makes me so happy**

 **i'll try to keep all the chapters between 3k and 5k words, so**

 **yea**

 **thanks again you guys, please read n review, you all are beautiful perfect nerdy lovable people, and be sure to wear your seatbelt**


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